Taylor Woodrow in line for £250m PFI

Taylor Woodrow is looking good for a £250m-plus PFI hospital windfall on Merseyside.
Well-placed sources say the New Hospitals group, headed by Taywood, is in the box-seat to upgrade the St Helens, Whiston and Newton hospitals.
So it looks like curtains for the only other contestant asked to work up best and final offers - the Consort group, led by Balfour Beatty. The scheme's client, the St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust, has already ditched a bid from a third group - Equion/Interserve.
It is expected that more than 500 construction workers will be employed on overhauling the three hospitals. Work on site is expected to kick off before the end of this year, with the refurbished facilities due to open in 2009. The maintain and operate concession will run for 30 years.
The redevelopment project is expected to include 164 additional beds, three additional operating theatres, 15 extra outpatient consulting rooms, further endoscopy suites and improved car parking facilities.
It is planned that Whiston hospital will become the main centre for emergency and more complex care, with more than 880 beds.
n Taywood and Balfour Beatty also feature in the duel for a second PFI hospital deal, again worth £200m-plus.
By the end of this month, Mid-Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is expected to name its preferred bidder for a project centring on hospitals in Wakefield and Pontefract.